Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Uncut AUGUST 2011 - by David Stubbs

BRIAN ENO: DRUMS BETWEEN THE BELLS

Eno in playful mood; warning: may contain poetry

An improvement, this, on his previous album for Warp, the by no means bad Small Craft On A Milk Sea, Drums Between The Bells captures Eno in versatile and intricate mode, ranging from the spare, Harold Budd-like ambient piano of Dreambirds to the busier, almost jazzy shuffle of opener Bless This Space, reminiscent of his Before And After Science period. It is set against treated vocal renditions of Rick Holland's lyrics, which paint meticulous and surreal pictures and set verbal juxtapositions that sit nicely with Eno's music, which itself blurs the line between chance and strategy. If you prefer your Eno wordless, though, the CD edition of this album comes with an all-instrumental version.